Managing content delivery network service providers

ABSTRACT

A system, method, and computer readable medium for managing CDN service providers are provided. A network storage provider storing one or more resources on behalf of a content provider obtains client computing device requests for content. The network storage provider processes the client computing device requests and determines whether a subsequent request for the resource should be directed to a CDN service provider as a function of the updated or processed by the network storage provider storage component.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/299,169, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,239,514, entitled “Managing ContentDelivery Network Service Providers” and filed Nov. 17, 2011, which inturn is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/272,699,now U.S. Pat. No. 8,073,940, entitled “Managing Content Delivery NetworkService Providers” and filed on Nov. 17, 2008, the disclosures of whichare herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Generally described, computing devices and communication networks can beutilized to exchange information. In a common application, a computingdevice can request content from another computing device via thecommunication network. For example, a user at a personal computingdevice can utilize a software browser application to request a Web pagefrom a server computing device via the Internet. In such embodiments,the user computing device can be referred to as a client computingdevice and the server computing device can be referred to as a contentprovider.

Content providers are generally motivated to provide requested contentto client computing devices often with consideration of efficienttransmission of the requested content to the client computing deviceand/or consideration of a cost associated with the transmission of thecontent. For larger scale implementations, a content provider mayreceive content requests from a high volume of client computing deviceswhich can place a strain on the content provider's computing resources.Additionally, the content requested by the client computing devices mayhave a number of components, which can further place additional strainon the content provider's computing resources.

With reference to an illustrative example, a requested Web page, ororiginal content, may be associated with a number of additionalresources, such as images or videos, which are to be displayed with theWeb page. In one specific embodiment, the additional resources of theWeb page are identified by a number of embedded resource identifiers,such as uniform resource locators (“URLs”). In turn, software on theclient computing devices typically processes embedded resourceidentifiers to generate requests for the content. Often, the resourceidentifiers associated with the embedded resources reference a computingdevice associated with the content provider such that the clientcomputing device would transmit the request for the additional resourcesto the referenced content provider computing device. Accordingly, inorder to satisfy a content request, the content provider(s) (or anyservice provider on behalf of the content provider(s)) would provideclient computing devices data associated with the Web page and/or thedata associated with the embedded resources.

Some content providers attempt to facilitate the delivery of requestedcontent, such as Web pages and/or resources identified in Web pages,through the utilization of a network storage provider or a contentdelivery network (“CDN”) service provider. A network storage providerand a CDN server provider each typically maintain a number of computingdevices in a communication network that can maintain content fromvarious content providers. In turn, content providers can instruct, orotherwise suggest to, client computing devices to request some, or all,of the content provider's content from the network storage provider's orCDN service provider's computing devices.

As with content providers, network storage providers and CDN serviceproviders are also generally motivated to provide requested content toclient computing devices often with consideration of efficienttransmission of the requested content to the client computing deviceand/or consideration of a cost associated with the transmission of thecontent. Accordingly, CDN service providers often consider factors suchas latency of delivery of requested content in order to meet servicelevel agreements or to generally improve the quality of deliveryservice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will become more readily appreciated as the same become betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description, whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrative of content delivery environmentincluding a number of client computing devices, content provider, anetwork storage provider, and a content delivery network serviceprovider;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1illustrating the registration of a content provider with a networkstorage provider;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the content delivery environment of FIG. 1illustrating the generation and processing of a resource request by aclient computing device to a content provider;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are block diagrams of the content delivery environmentof FIG. 1 illustrating obtaining client computing device DNS queries andhaving the subsequent resource request processed by a network storageprovider;

FIGS. 5A-5C are block diagrams of the content delivery environment ofFIG. 1 illustrating various embodiments for obtaining client computingdevice DNS queries and having the subsequent resource request processedby a CDN service provider; and

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrative of a resource DNS query processingroutine implemented by a network storage provider.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally described, the present disclosure is directed to delivery ofone or more resources associated with a content provider by selectingfrom available storage service providers and content delivery network(“CDN”) service providers. Specifically, aspects of the disclosure willbe described with regard to the management of resource delivery by anetwork storage provider on behalf of a content provider as a functionof request processing criteria. In one aspect, as a function of therequest processing criteria, a network storage provider may identify astorage component associated with the network storage provider forprocessing a subsequent request by a client computing device. In anotheraspect, as a function of the request processing criteria, the networkstorage provider may select one or more CDN service providers forprocessing subsequent requests by a client computing device.

In an illustrative embodiment, the request processing criteria, orrequest processing information, can correspond to a financial costattributed to the content provider for delivery of requested resourcesby the network storage provider or a CDN service provider. The requestprocessing criteria can also correspond to quality of servicecharacteristics associated with the delivery of requested resources by anetwork storage provider or CDN service provider including, but notlimited to a volume of client computing device resource requests made tothe network storage provider, available communication network bandwidthor communication network bandwidth utilization, measured or estimatedlatencies, error rates or counts, and the like. Still further, therequest processing criteria can correspond to content provider or clientcomputing device specified information, such as end user specifiedfeedback. Although various aspects of the disclosure will be describedwith regard to illustrative examples and embodiments, one skilled in theart will appreciate that the disclosed embodiments and examples shouldnot be construed as limiting.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrative of content delivery environment100 for the managing registration of content with a CDN service providerand subsequent processing of content requests. As illustrated in FIG. 1,the content delivery environment 100 includes a number of clientcomputing devices 102 (generally referred to as clients) for requestingcontent from a content provider, a network storage provider 110, and/ora CDN service provider 106. In an illustrative embodiment, the clientcomputing devices 102 can correspond to a wide variety of computingdevices including personal computing devices, laptop computing devices,hand-held computing devices, terminal computing devices, mobile devices,wireless devices, various electronic devices and appliances and thelike. In an illustrative embodiment, the client computing devices 102include necessary hardware and software components for establishingcommunications over a communication network 108, such as a wide areanetwork or local area network. For example, the client computing devices102 may be equipped with networking equipment and browser softwareapplications that facilitate communications via the Internet or anintranet.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, each client computing device 102utilizes some type of local DNS resolver component, such as a DNSnameserver, that generates the DNS queries attributed to the clientcomputing device. In one embodiment, the local DNS resolver componentmay be provide by an enterprise network to which the client computingdevice 102 belongs. In another embodiment, the local DNS resolvercomponent may be provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) thatprovides the communication network connection to the client computingdevice 102.

The content delivery environment 100 can also include a content provider104 in communication with the one or more client computing devices 102via the communication network 108. The content provider 104 illustratedin FIG. 1 corresponds to a logical association of one or more computingdevices associated with a content provider. Specifically, the contentprovider 104 can include a web server component 112 corresponding to oneor more server computing devices for obtaining and processing requestsfor content (such as Web pages) from the client computing devices 102.The content provider 104 can further include an origin server component114 and associated storage component 116 corresponding to one or morecomputing devices for obtaining and processing requests for networkresources. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that thecontent provider 104 can be associated with various additional computingresources, such additional computing devices for administration ofcontent and resources, DNS nameservers, and the like. For example, asfurther illustrated in FIG. 1, the content provider 104 can beassociated with one or more DNS nameserver components 118 that wouldreceive DNS queries associated with the domain of the content provider104 and be authoritative to resolve client computing device DNS queriescorresponding to a domain of the content provider 104 (e.g., return anIP address responsive to the DNS query). A DNS nameserver component isconsidered to be authoritative to a DNS query if the DNS nameserver cancompletely resolve the query by providing a responsive IP address.Additionally, the content provider 104 may include multiple componentsor eliminate some components altogether, such as origin server 114.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the content delivery environment 100can further include a CDN service provider 106 in communication with theone or more client computing devices 102, the content provider 104, andthe network storage provider 110 via the communication network 108. TheCDN service provider 106 illustrated in FIG. 1 corresponds to a logicalassociation of one or more computing devices associated with a CDNservice provider. Specifically, the CDN service provider 106 can includea number of Point of Presence (“POP”) locations 120, 126, 132 thatcorrespond to nodes on the communication network 108. Each POP 120, 126,132 includes a DNS component 122, 128, 134 made up of a number of DNSnameserver computing devices for resolving DNS queries from the clientcomputers 102. Each POP 120, 126, 132 also includes a resource cachecomponent 124, 130, 136 made up of a number of cache server computingdevices for storing resources from content providers or network storageproviders and transmitting various requested resources to various clientcomputers. The DNS components 122, 128, 134 and the resource cachecomponents 124, 130, 136 may further include additional software and/orhardware components that facilitate communications including, but notlimited, load balancing or load sharing software/hardware components.

In an illustrative embodiment, the DNS component 122, 128, 134 andresource cache component 124, 130, 136 are considered to be logicallygrouped, regardless of whether the components, or portions of thecomponents, are physically separate. Additionally, although the POPs120, 126, 132 are illustrated in FIG. 1 as logically associated with theCDN service provider 106, the POPs will be geographically distributedthroughout the communication network 108 in a manner to best servevarious demographics of client computing devices 102. Additionally, oneskilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the CDN serviceprovider 106 can be associated with various additional computingresources, such additional computing devices for administration ofcontent and resources, and the like.

With further continued reference to FIG. 1, the content deliveryenvironment 100 can also include a network storage provider 110 incommunication with the one or more client computing devices 102, the CDNservice provider 106, and the content provider 104 via the communicationnetwork 108. The network storage provider 110 illustrated in FIG. 1 alsocorresponds to a logical association of one or more computing devicesassociated with a network storage provider. Specifically, the networkstorage provider 110 can include a number of network storage providerPoint of Presence (“NSP POP”) locations 138, 144, 150 that correspond tonodes on the communication network 108. Each NSP POP 138, 144, 150 caninclude a storage management (“SM”) component 140, 146, 152 forobtaining requests for resources from the client computing devices 102and determining whether the requested resource should be provided by aCDN service provider 106 or from a storage component associated with thenetwork storage provider 110. In an illustrative embodiment, the storagemanagement components 138, 144, 150 can be associated with one or moreDNS nameserver components that are operative to receive DNS queriesrelated to registered domain names associated with the network storageprovider 110. The one or more DNS nameservers can be authoritative toresolve client computing device DNS queries corresponding to theregistered domain names of the network storage provider 110. Assimilarly set forth above, a DNS nameserver component is considered tobe authoritative to a DNS query if the DNS nameserver can resolve thequery by providing a responsive IP address.

Each NSP POP 138, 144, 150 also includes a storage component 142, 148,154 made up of a number of storage devices for storing resources fromcontent providers which will be processed by the network storageprovider 110 and transmitted to various client computers. The storagecomponents 142, 148, 154 may further include additional software and/orhardware components that facilitate communications including, but notlimited to, load balancing or load sharing software/hardware components.In an illustrative embodiment, the storage components 142, 148, 154 areconsidered to be logically grouped, regardless of whether thecomponents, or portions of the components, are physically separate.Additionally, the network storage provider 110 may include a stand aloneSM component 156 that provides CDN service provider recommendations tocontent providers 104, such as via a Web service.

Additionally, although the NSP POPs 138, 144, 150 are illustrated inFIG. 1 as logically associated with the network storage provider 110,the NSP POPs will be geographically distributed throughout thecommunication network 108 in a manner to best serve various demographicsof client computing devices 102. Additionally, the network storageprovider 110 can be associated with various additional computingresources, such additional computing devices for administration ofcontent and resources, additional DNS nameservers, and the like. Evenfurther, the components of the network storage provider 110 andcomponents of the CDN service provider 106 can be managed by the same ordifferent entities.

One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the components andconfigurations provided in FIG. 1 are illustrative in nature.Accordingly, additional or alternative components and/or configurations,especially regarding the additional components, systems and subsystemsfor facilitating communications may be utilized.

With reference now to FIGS. 2-6, the interaction between variouscomponents of the content delivery environment 100 of FIG. 1 will beillustrated. For purposes of the example, however, the illustration hasbeen simplified such that many of the components utilized to facilitatecommunications are not shown. One skilled in the relevant art willappreciate that such components can be utilized and that additionalinteractions would accordingly occur without departing from the spiritand scope of the present disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 2, an illustrative interaction for registrationof a content provider 104 with the network storage provider 110 will bedescribed. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the storage provider contentregistration process begins with registration of the content provider104 with the network storage provider 110. In an illustrativeembodiment, the content provider 104 utilizes a registration applicationprogram interface (“API”) to register with the network storage provider110 such that the network storage provider 110 can provide content onbehalf of the content provider 104. The registration API includes theidentification of the origin server 114 of the content provider 104 thatwill provide requested resources to the network storage provider 110. Inaddition or alternatively, the registration API includes the content tobe stored by the network storage provider 110 on behalf of the contentprovider 104.

One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that upon storage of thecontent by the network storage provider 110, the content provider 104can begin to direct requests for content from client computing devices102 to the network storage provider 110. Specifically, in accordancewith DNS routing principles, a client computing device DNS requestcorresponding to a resource identifier would eventually be directedtoward a storage component 140, 144, 148 of a NSP POP 138, 142, 146associated with the network storage provider 110 (e.g., resolved to anIP address corresponding to a storage component).

In an illustrative embodiment, upon receiving the registration API, thenetwork storage provider 110 obtains and processes the content providerregistration information. In an illustrative embodiment, the networkstorage provider 110 can then generate additional information that willbe used by the client computing devices 102 as part of the contentrequests. The additional information can include, without limitation,content provider identifiers, such as content provider identificationcodes, storage provider identifiers, such as storage provideridentification codes, executable code for processing resourceidentifiers, such as script-based instructions, and the like. Oneskilled in the relevant art will appreciate that various types ofadditional information may be generated by the network storage provider110 and that the additional information may be embodied in any one of avariety of formats.

The network storage provider 110 returns an identification of applicabledomains for the network storage provider (unless it has been previouslyprovided) and any additional information to the content provider 104. Inturn, the content provider 104 can then process the stored content withcontent provider specific information. In one example, the contentprovider 104 translates resource identifiers originally directed towarda domain of the origin server 114 to a domain corresponding to thenetwork storage provider 110. The modified URLs are embedded intorequested content in a manner such that DNS queries for the modifiedURLs are received by a DNS nameserver corresponding to the networkstorage provider 110 and not a DNS nameserver corresponding to thecontent provider 104.

Generally, the identification of the resources originally directed tothe content provider 104 will be in the form of a resource identifierthat can be processed by the client computing device 102, such asthrough a browser software application. In an illustrative embodiment,the resource identifiers can be in the form of a uniform resourcelocator (“URL”). Because the resource identifiers are included in therequested content directed to the content provider, the resourceidentifiers can be referred to generally as the “content provider URL.”For purposes of an illustrative example, the content provider URL canidentify a domain of the content provider 104 (e.g.,contentprovider.com), a name of the resource to be requested (e.g.,“resource.xxx”) and a path where the resource will be found (e.g.,“path”). In this illustrative example, the content provider URL has theform of:

http://www.contentprovider.com/path/resource.xxx

During an illustrative translation process, the content provider URL ismodified such that requests for the resources associated with themodified URLs resolve to a POP associated with the network storageprovider 110. In one embodiment, the modified URL identifies the domainof the network storage provider 110 (e.g., “storageprovider.com”), thesame name of the resource to be requested (e.g., “resource.xxx”) and thesame path where the resource will be found (e.g., “path”). Additionally,the modified URL can include additional processing information (e.g.,“additional information”). The modified URL would have the form of:

http://additional information.storageprovider.com/path/resource.xxx

In another embodiment, the information associated with the networkstorage provider 110 is included in the modified URL, such as throughprepending or other techniques, such that the modified URL can maintainall of the information associated with the original URL. In thisembodiment, the modified URL would have the form of:

http://additionalinformation.storageprovider.com/www.contentprovider.com/path/resource.xxx

With reference now to FIG. 3, after completion of the registration andtranslation processes illustrated in FIG. 2, a first client computingdevice 102A subsequently generates a content request that is receivedand processed by the content provider 104, such as through the Webserver 112. In accordance with an illustrative embodiment, the requestfor content can be in accordance with common network protocols, such asthe hypertext transfer protocol (“HTTP”). Upon receipt of the contentrequest, the content provider 104 identifies the appropriate responsivecontent. In an illustrative embodiment, the requested content cancorrespond to a Web page that is displayed on the client computingdevice 102A via the processing of information, such as hypertext markuplanguage (“HTML”), extensible markup language (“XML”), and the like. Therequested content can also include a number of embedded resourceidentifiers, described above, that corresponds to resource objects thatshould be obtained by the client computing device 102A as part of theprocessing of the requested content. The embedded resource identifierswill generally in the form of the modified URLs, described above.

Alternatively, the embedded resource identifiers can remain in the formof the content provider URLs that would be received and processed by aDNS nameserver associated with the content provider 104. In thisalternative embodiment, the receiving DNS nameserver would use acanonical name record (“CNAME”) that would identify the network storagecomponent 110. Upon receipt of the returned CNAME, the client computingdevice 102A subsequently transmits a DNS query corresponding to thereceived CNAME. The client computing device 102A can then process thereceived CNAME in a manner similar to the modified URLs, describedbelow. For ease of illustration, however, the alternative embodimentwill not be described in further detail and the additional processingsteps will only be described with regard to the modified URL. Oneskilled in the relevant will appreciate that the below description maybe applicable to CNAMEs as described in the alternative embodiment.

With reference now to FIG. 4A, upon receipt of the requested content,the client computing device 102A, such as through a browser softwareapplication, begins processing any of the markup code included in thecontent and attempts to acquire the resources identified by the embeddedresource identifiers (e.g., the embedded, modified URLs). Accordingly,the first step in acquiring the content correspond to the issuance, bythe client computing device 102 (through its local DNS resolver), a DNSquery for the Original URL resource identifier that results in theidentification of a DNS nameserver authoritative to the “.” and the“com” portions of the modified URL. After partially resolving themodified URL according to the “.” and “com” portions of the embeddedURL, the client computing device 102A then issues another DNS query forthe resource URL that results in “.storageprovider” portion of theembedded, modified URL. The issuance of DNS queries corresponding to the“.” and the “com” portions of a URL, such as the modified URL, are wellknown and have not been illustrated.

In an illustrative embodiment, the identification of the identificationof a DNS nameserver authoritative to the “storageprovider” correspondsto an IP address of a DNS nameserver associated with the network storageprovider 110. In one embodiment, the IP address is a specific networkaddress unique to a DNS nameserver component of a POP. In anotherembodiment, the IP address can be shared by one or more POPs. In thisembodiment, a further DNS query to the shared IP address utilizes aone-to-many network routing schema, such as anycast, such a specific POPwill receive the request as a function of network topology. For example,in an anycast implementation, a DNS query issued by a client computingdevice 102A to a shared IP address will arrive at a DNS nameservercomponent of the network storage provider 110 logically having theshortest network topology distance, often referred to as network hops,from the client computing device. The network topology distance does notnecessarily correspond to geographic distance. However, in someembodiments, the network topology distance can be inferred to be theshortest network distance between a client computing device 102A and anetwork storage provider POP. With continued reference to FIG. 4A, onceone of the DNS nameservers in the network storage provider 110 receivesthe request, the specific DNS nameserver attempts to resolve therequest.

As will be explained in detail below, to resolve the DNS query, the SMcomponents 140, 146, 152, 156 (such as via the DNS nameserver componentassociated with the SM components) of the network storage provider 110can maintain request processing criteria regarding the processing ofrequests for each resource, or a subset of resources, provided by thecontent provider 104. In an illustrative embodiment, the SM components140, 146, 152, 156 utilizes the request processing criteria to determinewhether a subsequent request for the resource should be processed by astorage component of the network storage provider 110 or whether thesubsequent request for the resource should be processed by a CDN serviceprovider 106. The request processing criteria can include the totalnumber of requests obtained by the network storage provider 110 for aresource over a defined period of time, trends regarding anincrease/decrease in requests for the resource, a current financial costassociated with the delivery of the resource by the network storageprovider, quality of service metrics measured by the network storageprovider 110 or CDN service provider 106, additional criteria providedby the content provider 104, and various combinations or alternativesthereof. An alternative in which the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156select a CDN service provider 106 will be described with regard to FIGS.5A-5C.

With continued reference to FIG. 4A, based on the request processingcriteria maintained by the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 (eitherindividually maintained or shared), in some embodiments, the networkstorage provider 110 can utilize processing criteria to select that astorage component associated with the network storage provider 110should process the subsequent request for the resource by the clientcomputing devices 102A. In an illustrative embodiment, the receiving DNSnameserver can resolve the DNS query by identifying an IP address of anetwork storage provider storage component 142, 148, 154 (FIG. 1) thatwill process the request for the requested resource. The DNS nameserverof the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 can utilize at least a portionof request processing criteria to the specific IP address of a networkstorage provider storage component 142, 148, 154 (FIG. 1). Additionally,the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 can further utilize additionalrequest processing criteria associated only with the selection of thenetwork storage provider storage component 142, 148, 154 and notutilized to select between the network storage provider 110 or the CDNservice provider 106. Still further, the SM components 140, 146, 152,156 can utilize additional request routing methodologies such as currentcommunication network conditions, often referred to as “Internetweather,” or other selection methodologies, such as round-robinselection or prioritized lists.

With reference now to FIG. 4B, upon receipt of the successful resolutionof the DNS query to the storage provider component (e.g., a DNS querycorresponding to the modified URL http://additionalinformation.storageprovider.com/path/resource.xxx), the client computingdevice 102A transmits embedded resource requests to the network storageprovider storage component 142, 148, 154 (FIG. 1) corresponding to thepreviously provided IP address. In turn, the receiving network storageprovider storage component can process the request by providing therequested content obtained from the origin server 114 of the contentprovider 104. The requested content can be transmitted to the requestingclient computing device 102A via the communication network 108.

With reference now to FIGS. 5A-5C, assume that the content provider hasauthorized (directly or indirectly) the utilization of a CDN serviceprovider 106. In one embodiment, the content provider 104 can authorizethe implementation of a CDN server provider 106 in accordance with APIsor graphical user interfaces that facilitate the authorization andinitialization of one or more CDN service providers 106. Additionally,the content provider 104 can implement logic, or programmaticinstructions, that facilitate the authorization and initialization ofone or more CDN service providers 106 without requiring humaninteraction. Subsequent to the authorization of the utilization of theCDN service provider 106, a client computing device, illustrativelyclient computing device 102B, repeats the request for a resource and isreturned the requested resource with a number of embedded resource(similar to the interaction illustrated in FIG. 3).

With reference to FIG. 5A, to obtain the requested resources, the clientcomputing device 102B transmits a DNS query for an embedded resource(e.g., (e.g., http://additionalinformation.storageprovider.com/path/resource.xxx), which is received bya DNS nameserver at the network storage provider 110, such as the DNSnameserver component associated with one of the SM components 140, 144,150, 156. As described above with regard to FIG. 4A, the receiving DNSnameserver attempts to resolve the client computing device DNS query. Asalso described above, to resolve the DNS query, the SM components 140,146, 152, 156 (such as via the DNS nameserver component associated withthe SM components) of the network storage provider 110 can maintainrequest processing criteria regarding the processing of requests foreach resource, or a subset of resources, provided by the contentprovider 104. In an illustrative embodiment, the SM components 140, 146,152, 156 utilizes the request processing criteria to determine whether asubsequent request for the resource should be processed by a storagecomponent of the network storage provider 110 or whether the subsequentrequest for the resource should be processed by a CDN service provider106.

With continued reference to FIG. 5A, based on the request processingcriteria maintained by the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 (eitherindividually maintained or shared), in some embodiments, the networkstorage provider 110 can utilize processing criteria to select that aresource cache component associated with the CDN service provider 106should process the subsequent request for the resource by the clientcomputing devices 102B (as opposed to a network storage component of thenetwork storage provider 110). Accordingly, instead of resolving the DNSquery by providing an IP address associated with a storage providerstorage component 142, 148, 154, the network storage provider 110 canmaintain sets of various alternative resource identifiers correspondingto one or more CDN service providers 106. The alternative resourceidentifiers can be provided by the network storage provider 110 to theclient computing device 102B such that a subsequent DNS query on thealternative resource identifier will partially resolve to a DNSnameserver component within the CDN service provider's network. Thenetwork storage provider 110 may select (or otherwise obtain) analternative resource identifier that is intended to resolve to anappropriate DNS nameserver of the CDN service provider 106 based on avariety of criteria. For example, the network storage provider mayselect an alternative resource identifier based on a regional serviceplan or service level information obtained from the content provider. Aswill be described further below, this additional information may also beused for further request routing.

In an illustrative embodiment, the alternative resource identifiers arein the form of one or more CNAME records. In one embodiment, each CNAMErecord identifies a domain of the CDN service provider 106 (e.g.,“cdnprovider.com” or “cdnprovider-1.com”). As will be explained ingreater detail below, the domain in the CNAME does not need to be thesame domain found in original URL. Additionally, each CNAME recordincludes additional information, such as request routing information,(e.g., “request routing information”). An illustrative CNAME record canhave the form of:

http://additional information.storageprovider.com/path/resource.xxxCNAME request_routing_information.cdnprovider.com

In accordance with this illustrative embodiment, the network storageprovider 110 maintains a data store that defines CNAME records forvarious URLs corresponding to embedded resources stored by the networkstorage provider 110. If a DNS query corresponding to a particular URLmatches an entry in the data store, the network storage provider 110returns a CNAME record to the client computing device 102B that willdirect the client computing device to a CDN service provider 106.

The returned CNAME can also include request routing information that isdifferent from or in addition to the information provided in URL of thecurrent DNS query. For example, if the CNAME selection is based on aregional service plan or a service level plan selected by the contentprovider 104, a specific identifier can be included in the“request_routing_information” portion of the specific CNAME record. Inanother embodiment, request routing information can be found in theidentification of a CDN service provider 106 domain different from thedomain found in the original URL. For example, if the CNAME is based ona regional plan, a specific regional plan domain (e.g.,“cdnprovder-region1.com”) could be used in the domain name portion ofthe specific CNAME record. Any additional request routing informationcan be prepended to the existing request routing information in theoriginal URL such that the previous request routing information wouldnot be lost (e.g., http://serviceplan.regionalplan.cdnprovider.com). Oneskilled in the relevant art will appreciate that additional oralternative techniques and/or combination of techniques may be used toinclude the additional request routing information in the CNAME recordthat is identified by the network storage provider 110.

With reference now to FIG. 5B, once the client computing device 102Bobtains the returned CNAME, the client computing device generates asubsequent DNS query corresponding to the CNAME. As previously discussedwith regard to FIG. 4A, the DNS query process could first start with DNSqueries for the “.” and “com” portions, followed by a query for the“cdnprovider” portion of the CNAME. To the extent, however, that theresults of a previous DNS queries can be cached (and remain valid), theclient computing device 102B can utilize the cached information and doesnot need to repeat the entire process. Similar to the process describedwith regard to FIGS. 4A and 5A, the client computing device 102B issuesa DNS query for the resource URL that results in “.cdnprovider” portionof the CNAME.

In an illustrative embodiment, the identification of the identificationof a DNS nameserver authoritative to the “cdnprovider” corresponds to anIP address of a DNS nameserver associated with the CDN server provider,such as DNS nameserver components 122, 128, 134 (FIG. 1). In oneembodiment, the IP address is a specific network address unique to a DNSnameserver component of a POP. In another embodiment, the IP address canbe shared by one or more POPs. In this embodiment, a further DNS queryto the shared IP address utilizes a one-to-many network routing schema,such as anycast, such a specific POP will receive the request as afunction of network topology. For example, in an anycast implementation,a DNS query issued by a client computing device 102B to a shared IPaddress will arrive at a DNS nameserver component 122, 128, 134 (FIG. 1)of the CDN service provider 106 logically having the shortest networktopology distance, often referred to as network hops, from the clientcomputing device. As previously discussed, the network topology distancedoes not necessarily correspond to geographic distance. However, in someembodiments, the network topology distance can be inferred to be theshortest network distance between a client computing device 102B and anetwork storage provider POP 120, 126, 132 (FIG. 1).

In an illustrative embodiment, the DNS nameserver components,illustratively DNS nameserver component 128, can utilize a variety ofinformation in selecting a resource cache component. In one example, theDNS nameserver component 128 can default to a selection of a resourcecache component of the same POP. In another example, the DNS nameservercomponents can select a resource cache component based on various loadbalancing or load sharing algorithms. Still further, the DNS nameservercomponents can utilize network performance metrics or measurements toassign specific resource cache components. The IP address selected by aDNS nameserver component may correspond to a specific caching server inthe resource cache. Alternatively, the IP address can correspond to ahardware/software selection component (such as a load balancer).

With reference now to FIG. 5C, in an illustrative example, assume thatthe CDN service provider 106 has selected the resource cache component130 of POP 126 (FIG. 1). Upon receipt of the IP address for the resourcecache component 130, the client computing device 102B transmits requestsfor the requested content to the resource cache component 130. Theresource cache component 130 processes the request in a manner describedabove and the requested content is transmitted to the client computingdevice 102B.

As previously described, the network storage provider 110 maintains thetable of alternative resource identifiers (e.g. CNAMES) that are used todirect a client computing device 102 to a CDN service provider 106. Inan illustrative embodiment, the network storage provider 110 can managethe list of alternative resource identifiers such that the contentprovider 104 can utilize a different CDN service provider 106. Forexample, the network storage provider 110 can continuously calculate acost associated with processing requests for specific resources and makeupdated recommendations regarding the utilization of a CDN serviceprovider 106 or the utilization of a different CDN service provider.

With reference now to FIG. 6, a flow diagram illustrative of a resourceDNS query processing routine 600 implemented by a network storageprovider 110 will be described. One skilled in the relevant art willappreciate that actions/steps outlined for routine 600 may beimplemented by one or many computing devices/components that areassociated with the network storage provider 110. Accordingly, routine600 has been logically associated as being performed by the networkstorage provider 110.

At block 602, one of the DNS nameservers at one of the SM components140, 146, 152, 156 (or corresponding to the network storage provider110) receives a DNS query corresponding to resource identifier. Aspreviously discussed, the resource identifier can be a URL that has beenembedded in content requested by the client computing device 102 andpreviously provided by the content provider 104. At decision block 604,a test is conducted to determine whether the receiving DNS nameserver isauthoritative to resolve the DNS query. In an illustrative embodiment,the receiving DNS nameserver can determine whether it is authoritativeto resolve the DNS query if there are no CNAME records corresponding tothe received resource identifier. As previously discussed, for purposesof the routine 600, a DNS nameserver component is considered to beauthoritative to a DNS query if the DNS nameserver can resolve the queryby providing a responsive IP address associated with network storageprovider storage component 142, 148, 154 (FIG. 1). In this context, theDNS nameserver may be operative to receive DNS queries on behalf networkstorage provider 110, but not authoritative if the DNS query cannot becompletely resolved by providing a responsive IP address.

As previously described, to determine whether the DNS query can beresolved to an IP address of the network storage provider storagecomponent 142, 148, 154 (FIG. 1) or whether an alternate resourceidentifier should be provided, the receiving DNS nameserver utilizesrequest processing criteria to make such a determination. In anillustrative embodiment, the receiving DNS nameserver will utilize thecost information, at least in part, to make such a determination. Thecost information corresponds to a financial cost attributable to thecontent provider 104 for the delivery of resources by the networkstorage provider 110 and the CDN service provider 106. The financialcost may be defined in a variety of ways and can be obtained by the SMcomponents 140, 146, 152, 156 in a variety of ways.

In one example, the cost information may designate that the contentprovider 104 has requested that the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156select the service provider (generally referred to as either the networkstorage provider 110 or a CDN service provider 106) associated with thelowest current financial cost to provide the requested resource.Accordingly, the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 could obtain costinformation for at least a portion of the POPs and select the serverprovider (e.g., the network storage provider 110 or the CDN serviceprovider 106) associated with the lowest financial cost. The financialcost information utilized to select the lowest financial costs may bebased on a current financial costs or projected financial costs. Theprojected financial costs can be based on criteria, such as time of day,characteristics of the resource (e.g., size of the data, type of data,etc.), anticipated data throughput volumes, current loads experienced byeach service provider, and the like. For example, if a serviceprovider's POP resources are at an optimal capacity, the serviceprovider may project financial cost at a premium cost level (e.g., ahighest cost level) because any additional data traffic would cause theresources to operate above optimal rates. Conversely, the serviceprovider may project lower financial costs for specific POPs accordingto historically known low volume times (e.g., time of day, days of themonth, time of the year, special days/holidays, etc.). The financialcost information may be a single cost projected for each identifiableservice provider. Alternatively, the financial cost information may be aset of costs associated with one or more identifiable components of eachservice provider (e.g., financial information for one or more POPsassociated with a service provider).

In another example, the cost information may designate the contentprovider 104 has requested that the cost associated with the providingthe requested resource be maintained below one or more cost thresholdsor cost tiers. Accordingly, the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 couldobtain financial cost information for the available service providersand select only those service providers with a financial cost at orbelow the cost thresholds. The SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 couldthen utilize other request processing criteria to select from theselected DNS nameserver (if more than one DNS nameserver is identified)or selected in accordance with other selections methodologies (e.g.,random, round robin, etc.).

In another embodiment, the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 can adetermined/projected volume of request information for selecting aservice provider. The determined/projected volume of request informationcan include the total number of requests obtained by the network storageprovider 110 for a resource over a defined period of time, trendsregarding an increase/decrease in requests for the resource, and variouscombinations or alternatives thereof.

In a further embodiment, the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 canutilize geographic criteria for selecting a service provider. Thegeographic criteria can correspond to geographic-based regional serviceplans available between the service providers and the content provider104. Accordingly, a client computing device 102 DNS query received in aregion not corresponding to the content provider's regional plan may bebetter processed by a DNS nameserver in region corresponding to thecontent provider's regional plan. In this example, the SM components140, 146, 152, 156 also obtain geographic information from the clientdirectly (such as information provided by the client computing device orISP) or indirectly (such as inferred through a client computing device'sIP address).

In yet another embodiment, the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 canutilize service level criteria for selecting a service provider. Theservice level criteria can correspond to service or performance metricscontracted between the available service providers and the contentprovider 104. Examples of performance metrics can include latencies ofdata transmission between the service provider POPs and the clientcomputing devices 102, total data provided on behalf of the contentprovider 104 by the service provider POPs, error rates for datatransmissions, and the like.

In still a further embodiment, the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 canutilize network performance criteria for selecting a service provider.The network performance criteria can correspond to measurements ofnetwork performance for transmitting data from the service provider POPsto the client computing device 102. Examples of network performancemetrics can include network data transfer latencies (measured by theclient computing device or the service providers, network data errorrates, and the like.

In another embodiment, the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 can utilizecontent provider specified criteria for selecting a service provider.The content provider specified criteria can correspond to a variety ofmeasurements or metrics specified by the content provider 104 andrelated to the delivery of resources on behalf of the content provider.The measurements or metrics can include content provider specifiedquality metrics (e.g., error rates), user complaints or error reports,and the like.

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment, the DNS nameservermaintains a data store that defines CNAME records for various URLs. If aDNS query corresponding to a particular URL matches an entry in the datastore, the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156 returns a CNAME record asdefined in the data store. In an illustrative embodiment, the data storecan include multiple CNAME records corresponding to a particularoriginal URL. The multiple CNAME records would define a set of potentialcandidates that can be returned to the client computing device. In anillustrative embodiment, each the SM component 140, 146, 152, 156maintains the same data stores that define CNAME records, which can bemanaged centrally by the network storage provider 110. Alternatively,each SM component 140, 146, 152, 156 can maintain specific data storesthat define CNAME records, which can be managed centrally by the networkstorage provider 110 or locally at the SM component 140, 146, 152, 156.

The returned CNAME can also include request routing information that isdifferent from or in addition to the information provided in URL/CNAMEof the current DNS query. For example, if the CNAME selection is basedon regional plan, a specific regional plan can be identified in the“requestrouting information” portion of the specific CNAME record. Asimilar approach could be taken to identify service level plans and filemanagement by including a specific identifier in the“request_routing_information” portion of the CNAME record. In anotherembodiment, request routing information can be found in theidentification of a CDN service provider 106 domain different from thedomain found in the current URL/CNAME. For example, if the CNAME isbased on regional plan, a specific regional plan domain (e.g.,“cdnprovder-region1.com”) could be used in the domain name portion ofthe specific CNAME record. Any additional request routing informationcan be prepended to the existing request routing information in thecurrent URL/CNAME such that the previous request routing informationwould not be lost (e.g., serviceplan.regionalplan.cdnprovider.com). Oneskilled in the relevant art will appreciate that additional oralternative techniques and/or combination of techniques may be used toinclude the additional request routing information in the CNAME recordthat is selected by the SM components 140, 146, 152, 156.

Alternative or additional methodologies may also be practiced todetermine whether the DNS nameserver is authoritative.

If at decision block 604 the receiving DNS nameserver is notauthoritative, at block 606, the DNS nameserver selects and transmits analternative resource identifier. As described above, the DNS nameservercan utilize a data store to identify an appropriate CNAME as a functionof the current DNS query. Additionally, the DNS nameserver component canalso implement additional logical processing to select from a set ofpotential CNAMES. The routine 600 proceeds to block 610.

Alternatively, if the receiving DNS nameserver is authoritative(including a determination that the same DNS nameserver will beauthoritative for subsequent DNS queries), the receiving DNS nameserverresolves the DNS query by identifying the IP address of network storageprovider storage component 142, 148, 154 (FIG. 1) at block 608. In anon-limiting manner, a number of methodologies for selecting anappropriate network storage provider storage component 142, 148, 154have been previously discussed and may be utilized by the networkstorage provider 110.

At block 610, the receiving DNS nameserver returns the DNS query resultto the requesting client computing device 102. As previously described,the DNS query result can include an identification of an IP address of anetwork storage provider storage component 142, 148, 154 if the networkstorage component 110 is going to process the subsequent resourcerequest or a CNAME if a CDN service provider 106 will process thesubsequent resource request. At block 612, the routine 600 terminates.

While illustrative embodiments have been disclosed and discussed, oneskilled in the relevant art will appreciate that additional oralternative embodiments may be implemented within the spirit and scopeof the present disclosure. Additionally, although many embodiments havebeen indicated as illustrative, one skilled in the relevant art willappreciate that the illustrative embodiments do not need to be combinedor implemented together. As such, some illustrative embodiments do notneed to be utilized or implemented in accordance with the scope ofvariations to the present disclosure.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements or steps. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements or steps are in anyway required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodimentsnecessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input orprompting, whether these features, elements or steps are included or areto be performed in any particular embodiment. Moreover, unlessspecifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within thecontext as used, is generally intended to convey utilization of theconjunction “or” in enumerating a list of elements does not limit theselection of only a single element and can include the combination oftwo or more elements.

Any process descriptions, elements, or blocks in the flow diagramsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should beunderstood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions ofcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executedout of order from that shown or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. It willfurther be appreciated that the data and/or components described abovemay be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded into memory ofthe computing device using a drive mechanism associated with acomputer-readable medium storing the computer executable components,such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or network interface. Further, the componentand/or data can be included in a single device or distributed in anymanner. Accordingly, general purpose computing devices may be configuredto implement the processes, algorithms and methodology of the presentdisclosure with the processing and/or execution of the various dataand/or components described above. Alternatively, some or all of themethods described herein may alternatively be embodied in specializedcomputer hardware. In addition, the components referred to herein may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to beunderstood as being among other acceptable examples. All suchmodifications and variations are intended to be included herein withinthe scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.

1. A system for managing content requests comprising: one or morecomputing devices associated with a network storage provider, the one ormore computing devices operative to: obtain a client computing devicedomain name system (DNS) query from a client computing device, the DNSquery corresponding to a resource maintained by the network storageprovider on behalf of a content provider; determine whether a subsequentrequest for the resource corresponding to the DNS query should bereceived by a storage component associated with the network storageprovider or by one or more content delivery network (CDN) serviceproviders based on a financial cost attributed to the content providerfor provision of the requested resource on the behalf of the contentprovider; select one of a resource identifier corresponding to one ofthe one or more CDN service providers or an IP address of a storagecomponent associated with the network storage provider based on afinancial cost for providing the requested resource; and in response tothe DNS query, cause the return of the selected resource identifier orIP address.
 2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein selecting oneof a resource identifier corresponding to one of the one or more CDNservice providers or an IP address of a storage component associatedwith the network storage provider is based on a financial cost forproviding the requested resource satisfying a cost criteria.
 3. Thesystem as recited in claim 2, wherein the cost criteria corresponds to alowest financial cost for providing the requested resource.
 4. Thesystem as recited in claim 1, wherein the DNS query from the clientcomputing device is associated with an embedded resource.
 5. The systemas recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more computing devicesassociated with the network storage provider is further operative tocause the registration of a CDN service provider such that the CDNservice provider will begin providing the requested resource.
 6. Thesystem as recited in claim 5, wherein the registration of the CDNservice provider is completed automatically without requiring additionalinteraction from the content provider.
 7. The system as recited in claim1, wherein selecting one of a resource identifier corresponding to oneof the one or more CDN service providers or an IP address of a storagecomponent associated with the network storage provider is further basedon at least one of a characteristic of the content provider and acharacteristic of the client computing device.
 8. A method for managingresource requests comprising: obtaining a domain name system (DNS) queryfrom a client computing device, the DNS query corresponding to aresource maintained by a network storage provider on behalf of a contentprovider; determining a financial cost corresponding to each of astorage component associated with the network storage provider and astorage component associated with a content delivery network (CDN)service provider respectively providing the requested resource; andtransmitting one of a resource identifier corresponding to the CDNservice provider or an IP address of the storage component associatedwith the network storage provider as a function of at least one of thedetermined financial costs.
 9. The method as recited in claim 8, whereinthe financial cost corresponds to a cost attributed to the contentprovider for the provision of the requested resource on the behalf ofthe content provider.
 10. The method as recited in claim 8, whereintransmitting one of a resource identifier corresponding to the CDNservice provider or an IP address of the storage component associatedwith the network storage provider is a function of at least one of thedetermined financial costs satisfying a cost criteria.
 11. The method asrecited in claim 10, wherein the cost criteria is a cost threshold. 12.The method as recited in claim 8, wherein transmitting one of a resourceidentifier corresponding to the CDN service provider or an IP address ofthe storage component associated with the network storage provider isfurther based on at least one other request routing criterion.
 13. Themethod as recited in claim 12, wherein the request routing criterionincludes at least one of a total number of requests obtained from clientcomputing devices for a resource over a defined period of time, trendsregarding an increase in requests from client computing devices for theresource, and trends regarding a decrease in requests from clientcomputing devices for the resource.
 14. The method as recited in claim12, wherein the at least one other request routing criterion includescost information.
 15. A system comprising: one or more computing devicesoperable to: obtain a domain name system (DNS) query from a clientcomputing device, the DNS query corresponding to a request for aresource maintained by a network storage provider on behalf of a contentprovider; determine a financial cost corresponding to each of one ormore content delivery network (CDN) service providers respectivelyproviding the requested resource, wherein the financial cost correspondsto a cost attributed to the content provider for providing the resourceby each of the one or more CDN service providers respectively; select aresource identifier associated with one of the one or more CDN serviceproviders based on a financial cost for providing the resource; andprovide the selected resource identifier responsive to the DNS query,wherein the selected resource identifier is provided as an alternativeto identifying an IP address associated with the network storageprovider.
 16. The system as recited in claim 15, wherein selecting aresource identifier is based on a financial cost satisfying a costcriteria.
 17. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the costcriteria is a cost threshold.
 18. The system as recited in claim 15,wherein providing the selected resource identifier corresponding to aCDN service provider is further based on at least one other requestrouting criterion.
 19. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein the atleast one other request routing criterion includes a volume of requestinformation.
 20. The system as recited in claim 19, wherein the volumeof request information includes at least one of a total number ofrequests obtained from client computing devices for a resource over adefined period of time, trends regarding an increase in requests fromclient computing devices for the resource, and trends regarding adecrease in requests from client computing devices for the resource. 21.The system as recited in claim 15, wherein the selected resourceidentifier is provided as an alternative to identifying an IP addressassociated with the network storage provider when a CDN service provideris associated with a quality of service metric meeting a contentprovider metric threshold for providing the requested resource.
 22. Thesystem as recited in claim 18, wherein the at least one other requestrouting criterion comprises at least one of financial cost information,quality of service information, and volume of request information.
 23. Asystem comprising: one or more client computing devices operable to:obtain a domain name system (DNS) query from a client computing device,the DNS query corresponding to a request for a resource maintained by anetwork storage provider on behalf of a content provider; and provideone of an alternative resource identifier corresponding to a contentdelivery network (CDN) service provider or an IP address of a storagecomponent associated with the network storage provider as a function ofa financial cost criteria associated with the resource maintained by thenetwork storage provider on behalf of the content provider; whereinproviding one of an alternative resource identifier corresponding to aCDN service provider or an IP address of a storage component associatedwith the network storage provider includes: identifying one or moreservice providers; for each of the identified one or more serviceproviders, identifying a financial cost for providing the requestedresource by the respective service provider on behalf of the contentprovider; and selecting a service provider from the one or more serviceproviders that satisfies the financial cost criteria.
 24. The system asrecited in claim 23, wherein the financial cost criteria is a costthreshold.
 25. The system as recited in claim 23, wherein the financialcost criteria is a lowest financial cost.